Affordable Hotel Near Metro Rail/Bus

Hi again,

I am helping my mom plan her trip to Washington, D.C., which will take place either in April or May. Plans aren%26#39;t firm yet, but she is planning to spend roughly 4 days/5 nights in town.

She%26#39;ll be flying direct from San Diego to BWI with Southwest. From BWI, she%26#39;ll take the B30 bus to the Greenbelt Metrorail Station. No, she won%26#39;t be renting a car, and no, there appears to be no advantage to using MARC versus the bus, the latter costing a mere 60垄 each way.

In terms of hotels, she is not very picky and is more than happy to stay at a Best Western or equivalent. Good transit access is her primary concern, as is the ability to walk somewhere for dinner at the end of the day. (Free continental breakfast is a huge plus.) Walking distance to a Metrorail station or good Metrobus line stop should be no more than 1/4-mile.

Lastly, she wants an affordable hotel. I have done some preliminary research and am rather surprised at how much more hotels cost there compared to here in California. I would expect to find something rather pleasant (through Hotwire, Priceline, or elsewhere) for $100/night or less, including tax. However, that seems to be impossible there!

I know this is a tall order, but can anybody offer me some tips? It appears hotels in Virginia are cheaper than those in D.C. proper or Maryland, but I think that will be too much of a burden for her, seeing as she%26#39;s arriving/departing via BWI.

Help greatly appreciated!

Affordable Hotel Near Metro Rail/Bus

Okay, I%26#39;ve got an update. She%26#39;ll be spending 5 days/6 nights in town, arriving 5/13 and departing 5/19. My aunt will be joining her, so they%26#39;ll need 2 beds. This means Hotwire and Priceline are no longer options. Hotel budget is still the same ($100/night) because they%26#39;ll be spending an extra day there (or else I would say $120/night).

My mom found a Days Inn on Connecticut Avenue that is a good deal and seems to match her needs. It%26#39;s relatively close to the Van Ness-UDC Metrorail Station. However, I%26#39;ve only been as close as the Woodley Park-Zoo stop. I recall that area being nice. Should she spring for the Days Inn? I can%26#39;t get the Days Inn reservation system to work at the moment, but I did see a Days Inn in College Park. How about that one?

Affordable Hotel Near Metro Rail/Bus

This may be too far out for them, but wanted to mention that we just came back from staying 6 nights in Rockville MD at the Legacy Hotel. We got it through Priceline%26#39;s regular rate (not bidding) and many of the rooms have two double beds. Our rate was incredibly cheap - wrapped together with the airline flights it was about $56/night for the room.

It was a *very* nice hotel, excellent staff, one long block from the metro with free shuttle transport there or to anywhere locally. No breakfast, but there are two bakeries within a hundred yards. Few close evening restaurant choices - that was the only drawback, but the shuttle might work for that.

Might be worth looking at for them.

Thanks for the tip. Looks like it%26#39;ll be too far out the other direction, though.

Anyone else? Are people offended at how specific my request is...?

I think it is just that there aren%26#39;t any Best Western type places that we would sent anyone to. DC is an expensive hotel town and cheap places that are also safe and in a nice location just don%26#39;t exist.

None? What about the Maryland suburbs? And that Days Inn on Connecticut Avenue that I mentioned? I can see my mom booking it if she doesn%26#39;t hear back from me soon, and then she may end up in a bad part of town...

I%26#39;ve never been in the Days Inn in Van Ness, but the Van Ness area is a nice residential area and the hotel is close to the Red Line Metro and several busses that go into DC.

There is a Giant supermarket not far and about a half a mile away toward Tenleytown on Wisconsin Ave., if she likes walking, there are lots of restaurants and a Whole Foods.

As others have said, the further out of DC you go, the less expensive the hotel.

Good luck!

That Days Inn used to get rather poor reviews. Have you looked at the recent reviews? (I have not.) That Days Inn is in an OK location only about 3 blocks from a Metro station and would work fine if the rooms, etc are nice enough.

The Days Inn does not get terrible reviews, although it%26#39;s certainly a no-frills accommodation. I spoke with my mom, and she agreed that getting a hotel for $100/night is a tough proposition. I%26#39;ll be covering the $100, and her and my aunt can cover an additional $50, which now puts the budget at $150/night. Hopefully we%26#39;ll have better luck!

I assume you have checked the reviews page for Washington DC hotels, which now has a handy-dandy feature where you can refine your search by price, star rating, etc?

Actually, I%26#39;ll use the handy-dandy search on map feature so that I can find something Metrorail adjacent. With the newly increased budget, I should be able to conduct the search without help (why I posted this initially). However, tips still greatly appreciated!

Dog drinking too much